She designed a life she loved…

Winter Break

George and I spent this Christmas weekend with his family, since they came up to visit. It was the most fun I’ve had in awhile to be honest. And let me just say, there were almost as many dogs as there were humans.

12/20/18

Let’s start with Thursday night. Thursday was supposed to be spent by George and I baking pies, cookies, and working out. Instead, that day went horribly wrong; everything just kept taking a turn for the worst. We ended up sleeping in a little too late because we stayed up really late the night before. We went to the store to get everything we needed and when we got back home, we ended up taking a nap. By the time we got to even peeling the applies for the pies, it was already getting late and the sun was going down. When it was time to make the pie crust, the dough kept sticking to the rolling pin, so it just kept making holes. The lattice, however, was the trickiest part. Picking one up to criss cross the pies without it breaking in half took skill. Overall, we probably spent twice as much as we should have. For the pecan pies, they were pretty quick and simple to prepare compared to the apple pies, which we should’ve just started with from the beginning. Next were the cookies, which I made as George wrapped a bunch of Christmas gifts in the other room. I made 4 batches of chocolate chip and M&M cookies. The reason why we made so many pies and cookies was because George had to bring in 2 pies to work and his sister Sarah had to bring in cookies to work also. Half of the pies and cookies were also meant to be shared with their family over the weekend. By the time everything was finished and it was time for us to go to bed, it was already 3 AM.

12/21/18

Before everyone came over on Friday, I spent the day sleeping in more and I made the last pie to bring at night. I took way too long to get ready and then after George and Sarah got off work, we went to Publix to get food for Saturday morning. We got back just in time to meet their family and we all went out to eat at The Grub to celebrate George’s brother’s birthday (Peter). I also brought in the apple pie we made to give him for his birthday. And yes, it tasted delicious.

12/22/18

Everyone woke up bright and early Saturday morning, ready for our big brunch. This time Brian (Sarah’s fiancé) was with us. The dogs were energized and played all morning. There was even this one moment where they were all lined up, but Peter’s dog Gordon messed it up.

George and Sarah made chipped beef, bacon, english muffins, and chocolate chip pancakes. Now, I’ve never had chipped beef before or ever heard of it until just recently, but it was actually really good. And I probably should’ve eaten less bacon, but who’s counting. Everyone also blamed Sarah for running out of water. We proceeded the day by opening up Christmas gifts. (I know, it was a little early for it since Christmas is still 2 day away, but with family, who cares if we have an early Christmas). Before that, George and I surprised everyone by changing into our onesies.

Opening all of our gifts was the funnest part of this weekend. There was just so much appreciation and happiness in the air. There were multiple gifts that some of us really did not have to get considering their prices, but we didn’t care; definitely worth it.

Even the dogs got gifts! Here’s Riley modeling his Adidas hoodie.

After the fun was over, we walked the dogs to the dog park in our neighborhood. This part was also fun for me. We got to wear/use some of our Christmas gifts while watching the dogs play and run around.

When we went back to Sarah’s we all split up to get ready for dinner. Sarah and Brian stayed at their place to start cooking the ham, George and I walked over to our place to get ready and bring the pecan pie (after going to Target to get 2 extra Nintendo controlers and new shoes with Peter), and their parents went to change and bring some extra food to make for dinner. When we all went back to Sarah’s, Peter, Brian, George, and I set up the Nintendo Switch that I got for George and we began to play Smash Ultimate. Riley was exhausted and laid on the couch among us, with Robin literally sitting on him for awhile.

After dinner, we played a few rounds of this game called Wolverine that Peter had introduced to us. This was another fun moment to remember before the night ended. Everyone grew exhausted and we split ways after Peter officially left with Gordon to go home.

12/23/18

Sunday has been nothing but sleeping in, writing, and playing Smash for me. I missed the chance to say goodbye to George’s parents and their dog Delilah before they left to go back to Fort Myers. Looking back at the past couple days, I’d say this Christmas has been one for the books.

P.S. George, I plan on making more fun and happy memories like these for the holidays to come 🙂

P.P.S. Delilah was sleeping on Sarah and Brian’s couch for the majority of the time.

As always, thank you so much for reading, as well as showing interest in my blog! It means a lot to me and I greatly appreciate it. Do you have any similar things that make you happy as well? What things are different? Let me know if there is also anything you’d like to comment on in the comment box!

This season, let us exhale the stress of these past few months, and inhale this long-needed winter break. Of course, the best way to spend winter break is with your loved ones and doing all things Christmas related. My boyfriend (George) and I built a gingerbread house together with the company of his sister and her fiancé (Sarah and Brian).

Building the gingerbread house was both fun and frustrating. Mind you, I haven’t made one since the 1st grade till a few days ago. The annoying part of it was the icing not settling completely to hold everything and it also failing to defy gravity. Seriously, you should see the poor gingerbread man’s face. Every other aspect though, was perfect. This was the best way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

The gingerbread man had experienced a traumatic event and lost his arm in the packaging, but I saved it and safely reattached his arm with the magic of icing. His face, however is a little overdone, but I’d say he’s more handsome than ever. As it turns out, we’re excellent gingerbread-house-making experts! With a little love and creativity, we completed this masterpiece. Also, if you’re wondering what movie we were watching in the background, it was “Elf,” a funny and classic Christmas movie.

Something else that we did that weekend was buy a sheep suit for Robin, our girl dog. It was pretty difficult that first because she kept trying to escape, but we did it. I present to you, Robin the Sheep Dog. (Don’t say it doesn’t make you smile).

These are the kind of activities I enjoy doing. The sweet, little, simple pleasures. They’re what keep me sane at insane times. Without the simple pleasures in life, I think the world would be a little more mad. Some other sweet things I’d like to incorporate into the next couple weeks, as we get closer to Christmas, include having hot chocolate dates and Christmas movie nights with my friends, decorating a little more around the apartment, purchasing last minute Christmas gifts, candlelit nights and having a wonderful Christmas time with family.

As always, thank you so much for reading, as well as showing interest in my blog! It means a lot to me and I appreciate it. What winter activities do you enjoy doing? Let me know if there is also anything you’d like to comment on in the comment box below!